Anil Seepaul and Sabrina Cassie of Cri-Stars Badminton Club, Chaguanas created history and re-confirmed their supremacy when they retained their respective individual singles crown at the Trinidad and Tobago Badminton Association’s annual Solo National Senior Championships at the Jean Pierre Complex on Thursday night.

Both Seepaul and Cassie were winning the national titles for the fourth and ninth times respectively. Seepaul, 28, displayed tremendous power and greater efficiency in scoring crucial points against his youthful challenger Kerwyn Pantin who has been one of the country’s most improved players in the last two years. And there was no disgrace in the 19-year-old losing the grand final in two straight sets at 15-7 and 15-7. Seepaul also shared the honour in the men’s doubles winning with veteran partner Ronald Clarke. He also re-captured the mixed doubles crown with life-long badminton partner and Cri-Stars clubmate Zeudi Mack.

It was another historic evening for Seepaul who distinguished himself with the unique badminton Solo Triple-Slam for the third time in four years. The Seepaul/Clark tandem pulled off the men’s doubles title from the aggressive Pantin/Jeremy Lewis duo at 15-7 and 17-16. But the highpoint of the finals was the do-or-die effort by the 2002 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games bronze-medallists Seepaul and Mack to wrest back the mixed doubles crown from the Clark and Cassie combination who were deprived of sixth consecutive title last year. After conceding the first set to the Clark/Cassie pair at 15-11, Seepaul exploded with ferocious overhead smashes and whiplash returns and together with excellent service strategy by Mack they raced to a commanding 5-15 in the second game to even the scores. This was the most exciting and tension-filled contest and it was evenly balanced at the midway stage with the scores level at 7-7.

Cassie missed the opportunity of being the triple-champion but had already proven her class and worth with a thrilling 15-8 and 15-6 victory over her women’s doubles partner Zeudi Mack. The aggressive right-handed power player made it her ninth national senior crown and teamed with Mack for her eighth women’s doubles championship crown. They outplayed the Stephanie Mitchell and Nadine Julien pair at 15-8 and 15-6. It was Mack’s tenth national women’s doubles title. All the champions, runners-up and third place finishers were awarded trophies and medals, courtesy Solo Beverages Limited, sponsors of the annual national senior championships.

Solo Honour Roll.
Men’s Champion: Anil Seepaul
Women’s Champion: Sabrina Cassie
Men’s Doubles Champions: Anil Seepaul, Ronald Clarke.
Women’s Doubles Champions: Sabrina Cassie, Zeudi Mack
Mixed Doubles Champions: Anil Seepaul, Zeudi Mack.

SYDNEY: The manager for Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson says Johnson plans to pursue legal action after it was determined that Carl Lewis was allowed to compete at the 1988 Olympics despite a positive drug test.

Four of the top five finishers of the 100-metre race at Seoul, South Korea — Johnson, Lewis, Linford Christie and Dennis Mitchell — have all tested positive to drugs. But only Johnson has been forced to give up his records and his medals. Morris Chrobotek, Johnson’s lawyer and manager, told yesterday’s Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that United States Olympic Committee (USOC) officials involved in a purported cover-up in the Lewis case should be jailed and he would pursue legal action following the positive drug test results.

“It is corruption,” Chrobotek told the Herald in a telephone interview. “Ben knew all along that Carl was positive, now all the world is knowing. It was a cover-up by the officials and it has only come out now because they don’t have to do anything about it.” “But he (Lewis)should have to give back his medal. Linford also. Ben was not the only one on drugs — they were all taking drugs, there was no difference. Carl Lewis should now have his medal taken away from him, like Ben did, and he has to come out and express what really happened.” “The officials should be jailed and dismissed and we will be suing them for what they did — where are the test results and who made the decision? The system has to be run with integrity and everybody treated equally.”

Chrobotek did not specifically say who the target of the legal action would be. Dr. Wade Exum, USOC’s former director for drug control from 1991 to 2000, released more than 30,000 pages of documents to Sports Illustrated and the Orange County Register last week that he says show that athletes such as Lewis and tennis player Mary Joe Fernandez tested positive but were allowed by USOC to compete anyway. Exum said Lewis tested positive three times for small amounts of banned stimulants found in cold medications at the 1988 Olympic trials. The American Olympic body first disqualified Lewis, then accepted his appeal on the basis of inadvertent use. Lewis went on to win gold at Seoul in the long jump and in the 100 metres after Johnson was stripped of his gold medal and world record after being disqualified for using steroids. USOC has called Exum’s accusations baseless. In October 2000, they handed over drug-testing responsibilities to a new organisation, the US Anti-Doping Agency.

REGIONAL cricket administrators risk serious criticisms about their inadequate preparation for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, unless there is a lot of quick corrective action taken by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

It has been learnt that at a recent meeting of the West Indies Board executive and the World Cup 2007 Cricket team led by Chris Dehring, there was widespread disagreement about the state of affairs ahead of a crucial visit by the Inter-national Cricket Council and Global Cricket International. “There have been a lot of people who believe that we have not yet done anything except talk before the World Cup. There are still a lot of inadequate grounds all over the Caribbean, and in many cases there are not much signs that changes are coming,” a close source said on condition of anonymity. “We must all remember that some people believe that Chris Dehring was being unfairly treated because of his closeness to the previous regime and therefore he was not given all the support he needs. But things are different now, he is going to need a lot of funding to convince the ICC that the West Indies Cricket Board can manage this major event adequately,” he added.

“It seems that the WICB will have to again go begging to the Caribbean governments otherwise a lot of these things will not get off the ground, although Dehring, because of his financial connections, believes he can raise a fair sum from the banking institutions in the region,” the souce said. It has been reported that President of the West Indies Cricket Board, Wes Hall is fearful of any further embarrassment to the WICB, following the recent incidents involving Bennett King, Carl Hooper and Chris Gayle,” the source added. During the upcoming Third Test in Barbados between the West Indies and Australia, the ICC, led by their president, Australian Malcolm Speed and several other executives along with leading World Cup sponsors Global Cricket will be in the Caribbean. “These guys are expected here from around May 2, and there is a lot of concern in West Indian circles” he noted.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Wes Hall plans to quit the post at the board’s upcoming annual general meeting because of health issues, a well-placed source disclosed this week.

Hall, the smooth-talking religious minister who ran unopposed in 2001, has already notified some members of the board that he won’t seek re-election and behind-the-scenes negotiations have already begun to identify a successor reports Caribbeancricket.com website. It is not yet clear if Val Banks, the Anguillan banker who served as Hall’s vice president after the controversial end of the Pat Rousseau/Clarvis Joseph regime, will seek re-election. A date and location for the meeting, due by July 21, has not yet been finalised. “The date for the meeting is subject to when the financial accounts and reports are completed,” a WICB insider told CaribbeanCricket.com. “At this stage, the WICB secretary will give notice to the members that the terms of the president and vice president expires on July 21st and invite nominations for the positions.”

Hall’s departure is sure to set off a furious battle for the presidency and many expect Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) president Stephen Alleyne to be in the thick of things when the nominations are made in the coming weeks. The talk around town is that Alleyne, a Scotland-trained insurance executive, will win nomination from the BCA, with support from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. When Hall took over in 2001, he was nominated by TT and seconded by the Leewards who then got backing from Barbados for Val Banks as vice president. If Banks puts himself up for re-election, the Leewards could toss their votes in Alleyne’s corner to keep their man in number two slot.

THE time when trainers hung over the rails with stopwatches in hand, and an eye on more than the fastest work of the day has ticked away. And that time spent searching for that elusive something with their classic contenders hoping they become special is also over.

Those efforts will either bring glory or sorrow tomorrow after the running of the Union Park Turf Club Easter Guineas, the spotlight event on the Arima Race Club Day 12 programme at Santa Rosa Park, Arima. In this compelling Grade One event, last year’s promising juveniles get ready to take their three-year-old steps on the road to the triple crown. The 1800 metres contest on the main track will have a maximum field of 16 runners. In that search for glory and possible stardom later on in the season, 15 will stumble along the road for a variety of reasons. The winner on the other hand will have a chance of making their connections proud, and also open up an opportunity to riches with the stakes and added incentives on offer for the two other legs of the tri-part series. “Now is the time to see how good they are.” said trainer Glen Mendez. “This is the first test, “ said the knowledgeable youngster. Mendez who conditioned Carnival Messiah to win the 2001 triple crown has three runners in tomorrow’s event. He targets the first leg of the triple with Celebration Time, Top Of The Class and Sweet Tempo.

Mendez said he was happy with his trio’s  preparation, so pleased, he anticipated the follow-up question as to which is his top choice, evading it, by adding, “It adds spring to your steps and make it fun to get up in the morning to do your job,” said Mendez. Based on past performances Celebration Time and Top Of The Class seem to be the most serious of Mendez’s three-pronged attack. Celebration Time who will be partnered by ex-champion apprentice Raymond Ganpath is a genuine performer. This son of Freshly Squeezed goes into tomorrow’s tough grind with a win and a rallying second place finish over a distance of ground.

Top Of The Class scored a pole-to-pole victory after a dismal performance on his debut. He was then beaten off from the top turn by Ichiban in the Royal Colours Classic and was not disgraced when beaten into fourth in his first try around two turns. Royal Flush is high on the list too. The Anthony Serville-trained gelding has all the qualifications to be the market leader in tomorrow’s event. His four wins is the most recorded by any of the runners, with the latest being an eye catcher, 50 metres short of the Guineas trip. Naturelly Classy has satisfied trainer Grant Lourenco and must not be ruled out. He lost his chance last time at the gates and this has become a worrying factor for Lourenco, who showed concerns for the slot five position from which he will start. “He goes into the gate without any fuss,” stated Lourenco. “But as soon as he is loaded he wants to get out.” Champion trainer John O’Brien who had five runners at the final subscription stage, will now saddle three runners in the event. His stock was depleted over the last two weeks with injury to stable stars Ichiban and Due Dilligence. So his hopes  now lie with Cornerstone, Hannibal’s Will and Isle Be There. Golden Honour and Super Grey have been showing up well on the gallops and are others to consider.